Fly On The Wall, Snake In The Grass
Disclaimer/Plot/Challenge Information/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: Harry Potter, Squatter by Enterprise1701-d, Harry Potter, Dark Legacy by The Fallen One 2012, The Son of Storms by PerseusPeverell092, Harry Potter: The Demigod Who Lived by DGJabberwocky, Damaged Raven, Apex and Dark Lord Potter by JustBored21, Harry Potter and the Potter Grimoire by IamZerokun, The Rise of the Last Potter by HPfanfictioner66, Child of the Storm, Ghosts of the Past and The Phoenix and the Serpent by Nimbus Llewelyn, A god's love by LovableOkie and Worthy of Magic by Raul Fictitious
Key Pairing: Harmony; Female-Percy/Luke;
Other Pairings: To be determined
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Mental Speech'
/Parseltongue/
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INSTEAD:
Let me offer an apology for how this chapter is going to start: you see, when trying to come up with the next step, my mind blocked on me and I was at risk of losing this idea.
But then, thankfully, I remembered some things I'd hoped to reveal later-on down the line and…well, the rest writes itself.
So, get ready for a VERY weird Chapter 5 and, at the same time, thanks to all who've constantly supported the idea;
"You're certain, Luna-girl? You know how I feel about bullies."
"I promise," said Luna, lifting her head from Harry's shoulder, but only so she could kiss him on his cheek as she smiled at him, "Your Mia is not like the rest of them, Big Brother. If she were, you would not still feel what you feel when you think about her, and even she knows it's true, isn't that right, His Mia?"
Even though it was someone else using the phrase and nickname – and a girl at that – Hermione still couldn't help but feel a strong sense of attraction and liking for the way Luna used the little nickname that Harry had given her, if only because hearing the name made her think of Harry.
Chapter 5: Whoa, Déjà Vu!
"Hungry, I hope there's pudding…"
"Huh?" asked Harry, blinking several times suddenly as a feeling of disorientation, mixed with a sense of déjà vu that was both creepy and funny, crept through him.
"I said, I hope there's pudding," replied Luna, earning a curious look from Harry, though the blonde girl just smiled her dreamy smile as she told him, "Oh, is everything okay over there, Big Brother? You seem to be more than a little away with the faeries: I do wish Titania would remember not to visit you when you're hungry and distracted, don't you?"
"Luna…" said Harry, stroking the girl's hair as she rested against him; at the same time, Harry looked over to Hermione, who seemed both confused and curious, before Harry told her, "Sorry about that, Hermione; I guess I got a bit caught off guard trying to keep Luna happy despite the cloying presence of the Dementors."
"Ugly, smelly things; they should all be hanged!" insisted Luna, earning a soft laugh from Harry as he toyed with the girl's hair again.
"I seriously doubt you can actually hang a Dementor, Luna, but, even so, I'm glad to see everyone's all right."
As Hermione nodded in response, Harry frowned when he felt something slide into his hand; looking down, he saw a small scrap of parchment, which had been folded up so much that it went unnoticed by Hermione. Luna, meanwhile, placed a chaste kiss on her big brother's cheek before she straightened up again, apparently having recovered from the Dementor presence.
Harry, on the other hand, frowned before, flexing one of the fingers on the hand that held the small scrap, he watched as it unfurled slowly, until, even though it stayed no bigger than the palm of his hand, he was still able to read what was written there.
Sorry that my power touched you because I couldn't control it around those fearmongers, Big Brother.
However, sometimes, even the most-frightening dreams can give an interesting insight into what is, what was, what could be, what must not.
Please don't be angry with me.
Love,
Your Luna-girl
Smiling at the cuteness of the message – especially since it also seemed to have been emphasised by a smiley face and a heart at the end of the note, Harry clenched his hand into a fist, incinerating the note before he looked up as he said, "Hey, Luna?"
"Yes, Big Brother?"
"I just wanted to say that I would like for you to give me the pleasure of having you sitting with Mia and I at the Welcome Feast; if anyone, meaning a certain grease stain, has anything to say about it, then I'll have a plan, Little Sister, okay?"
To Hermione's surprise, Luna let out a squeal of delight before she hugged Harry, "A family feast: how could I possibly refuse such a lovely offer from the bestest-best Big Bro in the whole, entire cosmos? Ooh, can I have pudding?"
"All you can eat, if you also eat all your vegetables and ignore the idiots," said Harry, stroking Luna's hair once more, even as the Thestral-drawn carriage reached the school's entrance at long last.
As Harry helped Luna and Hermione off the carriage, however, Harry's eyes narrowed when he heard a familiar Scottish brogue call out to him.
"Potter! Granger!"
"Whoa," said Luna, a hint of knowing in her voice as she smiled at Harry, "Talk about Déjà vu: must be the Wrackspurts, huh, Big Brother?"
"Must be," said Harry, before he turned to Professor McGonagall, who seemed both surprised and a little curious regarding the fact that, for once, Ronald Weasley was not with the other two, as he asked, "Is everything all right, Professor McGonagall?"
"No, it is not, Mr Potter," said Minerva firmly, looking to Harry more than Hermione as she explained, "In light of your…disappearance during the summer holidays, both the Headmaster and the Minister for Magic himself, they have both requested your presence immediately!"
"So, the Minister himself has come here to see me, has he?" asked Harry, keeping a calm front as he tried to not bring about the vision he'd apparently had thanks to his dearly-devoted little sister. "Wow, I don't know whether or not to be honoured, scared, a little intimidated or just a bit weirded out."
"Hmm: E, all of the above?" asked Luna, earning a soft laugh from Harry.
"Yeah, you might be right, Luna," agreed Harry, before he shrugged ruefully as he added, "Mind you, if anyone wants to know where I was all summer, then instead of wasting the Minister's busy time with something so meagre, how about you just ask our new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor? Or, better yet, how about Luna here? Seeing as how I spent pretty much the whole summer with them, I'd think it's pretty open-and-shut, don't you, Professor McGonagall?"
Judging by the shocked look on Hermione's face, Minerva guessed that even she hadn't known this little titbit.
However, when the Head of Gryffindor turned to Luna, she saw the unusually-eccentric blonde nod before she looped her arm around Harry's as she explained, "Big Brother's right, Miss Kitty; he did spend the summer with both me and Professor Moony…oops…sorry…I know that I probably shouldn't say that name out loud, should I, Harry?"
"Meh, scream it from the Astronomy Tower if you like, Luna-girl," said Harry, rubbing the back of his neck before he slowly moved his hand down to his stomach as it rumbled demandingly. "So, is that all, Professor? In case you didn't just hear that, my belly's rumbling and I'm tired, so…no offence meant, Ma'am, but I'd like to go to the feast and watch the Sorting."
"Wait one moment, Potter!" insisted McGonagall, even as Harry went to leave the Deputy in the entranceway. "We also received a report that you had been taken ill on the train…"
"Nope," said Harry, shaking his head as he explained, "And, again, if you don't believe me, you can ask Hermione or Remus, since both of them were in my compartment for the whole ride and, remind me, Mia, was I taken ill on the train?"
"Uh…no," said Hermione before, looking to Harry, as though seeking permission, she saw him smile and nod encouragingly, prompting Hermione to continue. "In…in fact, when that Dementor came onto the train, Harry was the one who sent it away with a Patronus, Professor McGonagall."
"Ridiculous!" insisted McGonagall, earning an audible sigh from Harry as he drew his wand. "I know you might be a reasonably-talented wizard when you want to be, Mr Potter, but there is no way in Magic that you can…"
"Expecto Patronum."
This time, Hermione wondered whether or not Harry had put less power into the spell, judging by how, instead of the menagerie of beasts that she had seen on the train, this time, only a bright, almost-corporeal white stag erupted from the end of Harry's wand, its light shining as brightly as it had done on the train, filling the cold, autumnal evening scene with warmth, light and happiness.
As the stag pranced around the area where Harry, his friends, a speechless Head of Gryffindor and a few awe-inspired, curious faces were all gathered, Harry lowered his wand while Luna pretty much summed up what Harry was thinking.
"Sorry, Professor, but what were you lying?"
Fly/Snake
"Phew…close one…"
"Shame that your Mia still had to go with her," said Luna, earning a slow shrug from Harry as they walked into the Great Hall; as they did so, Luna took Harry's hand as she added in a softer voice. "Also, I am sorry for what I did to you out of fear, Harry; but at least you managed to defy the Fates with your foreknowledge, huh?"
"I already hinted that I'd forgiven you for that, Luna," said Harry, taking a seat at the far end of the Gryffindor Table.
"I know," said Luna, sitting down next to him as she explained, "I just wanted to hear you say it out loud, Big Brother; that's all…uh-oh."
"Red or black hair?" asked Harry without turning to look at whoever or whatever might have been responsible for Luna's cavalier air suddenly turning dour as he instead looked to his little sister.
"Worse," said Luna, toying with the tips of her own hair, "Blond."
Sighing audibly, Harry clicked his tongue before he drawled, "What do you want, Malfoy?"
"I…I…uh…well…I…"
"Hello? Use your words," said Luna, while Harry didn't know whether to be more-surprised, or suspicious that the usually-sarcastic, bullying-driven Draco Malfoy was actually trying to sound civil instead of patronising, though he still didn't look up at the blond as Malfoy cleared his throat before he spoke again.
"I wish to apologise to you and Granger, Potter."
"Hmm," said Harry, now turning to Draco, who actually did look like he was full of regret and self-punishment, if not self-loathing, as he lowered his eyes when Harry looked up at him questionably. "Why?"
"I…I've had a bit of…an eye-opening summer," said Draco calmly, while Harry also noticed that, for once, the blond was also without his human bookends, or his cheerleader, Miss Parkinson. Like some others, particularly those who had witnessed his conjuring of the Patronus outside, Draco also seemed to be a little intimidated by Harry's power, the air of change that had taken a-hold of him and the greater, more-confident, better-off side to him that he now showed.
And yet, Harry seemed content to let Draco carry on, if only because the guy actually seemed humble enough, if not willing enough to offer his apology where everyone could see and hear it.
Talk about eating humble pie.
"And," continued the Slytherin boy, wringing his hands nervously as he explained, "As…as a result of the things I…I've come to realise, I…I've had a bit of an epiphany. And…and it's helped me see that I don't want to be enemies with you anymore, Mr Potter; especially not since, thanks to you and what you did last year, you…you're the reason I can still come to Hogwarts and call it my home away from home."
"But it was the summer that put the final nail in your coffin, Draco?" asked Harry, earning a soft blush and a nod from Draco.
"Yes."
"So…if not enemies…what are we now?"
"Well," said Draco, swallowing hard as he explained, "If…if it's not too late to…to be given the chance to…to earn it, I…I was kind of hoping that we might be friends…someday? In…in the meantime, I…I guess we're just classmates…peers…students learning the same sort of stuff, you know?"
"Hmm," said Harry, looking from Draco to the Slytherin Table; as he'd half-expected, Draco's words earned more than a few outraged, disbelieving looks from the other snakes while, when Harry looked to the High Table, he was genuinely surprised to see Professor Snape looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
When he saw Remus sitting next to the usually-bigoted, over-obsessed-with-Harry-as-he-was Potions Master, however, one hand firmly pressed onto the man's shoulder, Harry's lips twitched in recognition and personal amusement as he realised why Snape wasn't doing anything to stick his abnormally-large nose in Harry's business.
Looking back to Draco, Harry rose up from his seat, brushing his robe down before he smiled as he extended his hand.
"Hello Draco Malfoy, it's nice to finally meet the real you; my name's Harry Potter and I'd like to extend my hand in possible friendship to a fellow student of the Craft, and, from what I've heard, a pretty damn good flyer on the Quidditch Field: what do you say?"
"NO! Harry, you can't be serious! Shaking hands with that slimy snake; what's gotten into you this summer?"
"Weasley, sit down! This has nothing to do with you," said Professor Flitwick, earning a warm smile from Remus while Harry nodded his thanks.
Draco, meanwhile, gulped hard before he gripped Harry's hand; when he did so, he then seemed to drop his nervousness as he added, "I'd say I'm much better than pretty damn good, Harry Potter; I hope to give you the chance to eat those words."
"We'll see," said Harry, before he actually yanked on Draco's arm, pulling him so close that the tips of their noses were touching each other before, dropping his voice to a whisper, Harry spoke again.
"One chance, Draco; that's all you're ever going to get. If you, or your Father, do anything else to jeopardise my life, my friends' lives or, worse, if I even hear you thinking about Hermione or my Mum as…that word, the chance will be thrown away, burned up and then I'll leave you to the mercy, or lack thereof, of a very protective, not to mention bloody scary new friend of mine, understand?"
Not to his surprise, Draco nodded quickly, before Harry removed his hand from Draco's as he added, "Tell you what, Draco: seeing as how we've always had the same lesson together before now, and that's probably not going to change in a hurry, how's about we test the waters of our new friendship by being Potions partners?"
Harry could actually hear the strained, desperate gasp from Snape as he tried, and failed, to stick his oar in, while Draco shrugged.
"Hey, if it means you proving you can do something without your friends telling you how to do it, I'm good…see you in class…and on the field."
Nodding back, Harry watched as the blond turned and left.
Seconds later, a round of applause came from the High Table, courtesy of Professors Flitwick and Snape, before even Hagrid – the sight of whom told Harry that the new students were waiting to be Sorted – joined in with the applause, as did Luna and some of the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and even a couple of Gryffindors and Slytherins.
Not to Harry's surprise, no Weasley applauded.
In fact, Fred and George looked like Harry had just offered to feed them chocolate and then shit down their gullets, while Percy seemed to already be scribbling something on a bit of parchment, Ginny, meanwhile, looked like she'd just been given another death sentence while, again, not to Harry's surprise, Ron looked less-interested in Harry and more-interested in the still-empty plates.
Not that he minded, since, as he went to sit down, Harry heard Professor Flitwick speak to him and the hall.
"Mister Potter: never in my wildest dreams, not even when I taught your late Mother, may she rest in peace, did I ever believe I would see an olive branch like that extended between two of our most-combustible elements. For an excellent display of inter-house loyalty and spirit, please, take the first twenty points to Gryffindor House for the year."
"I think you'd better add thirty to that reward, Filius," added Professor Sprout, earning a few whispers from the Lions, before she added, "And the same to Mr Malfoy; given your pasts, I am not only stunned by this level of maturity, but I am also proud to call the both of you my students. I only hope to see the same sense of impending friendship in my lessons, as I'm sure your teachers will agree."
"I can think of one who doesn't," muttered Harry as he returned to his seat, though he held his head high, even as the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing Hermione, McGonagall and, to the relief of a certain redhead, the new first-years.
As Hermione sat with Harry and Luna – whose presence Harry was then surprised to note wasn't being challenged by their teachers, not even Snape or McGonagall – she looked around the hall in curiosity before she returned her attention to Harry as she asked, "Did I miss something? I'd have thought the Sorting Ceremony would be over by now."
"You'd probably be right too, Hermione," said Luna, before she nudged Harry playfully as she added, "If not for the fact that we both know that nothing ever goes according to plan where our Harry is concerned, right, Big Brother?"
"What does she mean?" asked Hermione.
Smiling in response, Harry turned to her, though, as he did so, his eyes narrowed as he glanced down at the space behind her robes' collar, where a strange, almost-unknown presence seemed to have made itself known to him.
"Well…" said Harry, lifting his eyes to Hermione's, if only out of respect for his friend's privacy – though he did not promise he wouldn't look into this once the coast was clear – as he jerked his head over to the Slytherin Table.
"Tell me, Mia: do you believe miracles can happen? Cause, even with all I've done over the summer, even I can only call this one of those…"
Chapter 5 and, again, let me apologise for the cheesy manner with which I wrote out this chapter, but, now the fun's over and Fate has been cheated, we're all left wondering: what's going on with our favourite – and not-so-favourite – ferret that he seems to have actually managed to grow a pair and think for himself?
Also, what has Harry noticed about Hermione and, now that history hasn't repeated itself – so to speak – how might this affect Harry's future endeavours surrounding the old man and his plans?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Harry needs to talk about the Fate he managed to cheat: fortunately, he's got a very close, trusted advocate who seems willing to hear him out, as well as offer their two drachmas on the other mysteries of the year; and, speaking of mysteries, once his mind is clear again, Harry brings one particular unnecessary mystery to a close long before schedule;
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